What is Scrutiny? Scrutiny Committees have the following powers: - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

What is Scrutiny?

Scrutiny Committees have the following powers:

• Review or or scrutinise decisions or actions

taken in respect of any cabinet functions.

• Review or scrutinise decisions or actions

taken in respect of any functions which are not the responsibility of the Cabinet;

• They may also:

Make reports or recommendations to Council

• r Cabinet on any of these matters, or on any

matters which affect the Council’s area or its inhabitants.

The Four Principles of Scrutiny

Good Scrutiny

• Provides ‘critical friend’ challenge to cabinet policy-

makers and decision-makers

• Enables the voice and concerns of the public and

its communities

• Is carried out by ‘independent minded governors’

who lead and own the scrutiny process

• Drives improvement in public services

The Five Roles of Scrutiny

External Scrutiny Holding the Cabinet to Account Performance Monitoring Policy Review Policy Development

SCRUTINY

Roles of Scrutiny

Holding Cabinet to Account

• review of cabinet decisions, pre-decision from

forward plan or call-in

• scrutiny of past performance or events

Policy Development

• contribute to development of new council policies

and strategies

• carry out in-depth reviews on related issues

Roles of Scrutiny

Policy Review

• keep council policies and strategies under review,

including in-depth reviews

Performance Management

• keep under review implementation of services, plans

and strategies

• contribute to improvement of performance, through

using performance data to choose scrutiny topics

Roles of Scrutiny

External Scrutiny

• scrutiny of partnerships
• holding to account other public services
• joint working between county & district councils
• scrutiny of health, community safety and police
• representing the community and promoting the best

interests and wellbeing of the area

Scrutiny Prioritisation Checklist

Yes No

Does the issue have a potential impact for the population of South Northants? Is it an issue of community concern? Does the issue match the strategic aims of the council? Will the scrutiny activity improve the overall performance and value for money provided by the council? Is it likely to get results? Is it an issue of concern to partners and interested parties? Are there adequate resources to do the scrutiny? Is the activity timely? If the answers to the above questions are mainly YES prepare a review scoping document and add to the work programme. If the answers to the above questions are mainly NO refer the issue back. No further action required.